Pyemotes ventricosus dermatitis, southeastern France

Abstract

We investigated 42 patients who had unusual pruritic dermatitis associated with a specific clinical sign (comet sign) in 23 houses in southeastern France from May through September 2007. Pyemotes ventricosus, a parasite of the furniture beetle Anobium punctatum, was the cause of this condition.

Figure 1

A–F) Photographs of 6 persons with skin lesions of Pyemotes ventricosus dermatitis. Note the central microvesicles, ulcerations or crusts, and some lesions with the comet sign. D) Lymphangitis-like dermatitis. E, F) Lesions resulting from natural infection of 2 of the investigators.

Figure 2

Organisms involved in transmission of Pyemotes ventricosus dermatitis. A) Common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) (5 × 2 mm). B) Nongravid female P. ventricosus mite (210 × 40 μm). C) Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) image (CLSM Vivascope 1500 microscope; Lucid Inc., Rochester, NY, USA) of a P. ventricosus mite (210 × 40 μm) in its microvesicle. D) Higher magnification of the microvesicle in panel C (light area in the center) (magnification ×4).